Al Forthan Memorial Scholarship

Al Forthan Memorial Scholarship

The Al Forthan Memorial Scholarship is a scholarship program that is dedicated to support Oregon high school seniors who come from families that have been impacted by addiction. We believe that education can be a means of preventing the cycle of addiction in families, and we are honored to support these inspiring and resilient students. Since 2006, we have awarded $417,500 to 281 Oregon High School students, and with continued support from our community we hope to provide many more students with scholarships.

The scholarship was created in the honor of Al Forthan, who was the first alumnus to work at the VOA Oregon Men's Residential Center. He touched hundreds of lives and brought love, wisdom, integrity, humility, and a deep passion and commitment to recovery. The purpose of the scholarship is to honor Al Forthan, support students in their education, encourage students to explore how addiction affects our community, and think about solutions to this complex problem.

Donate: Send a check to 2318 NE MLK Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97212 C/O Greg Stone or go to http://www.voaor.org hit the donate button in the right hand corner. Make sure you designate your donation for the Al Forthan Scholarship in the drop down menu.

Become an Al Forthan Scholarship Judge:Read and evaluate applicationsfor the Al Forthan Scholarship once a year. This takes about four hours of your time and offers an opportunity to get to know the scholarship winners through their personal stories.

Scholarship Trainings: Throughout the year the scholarship hosts monthly trainings to raise money. Academics and professors teach on a variety of topics ranging from racial reconciliation to the impact of the opiate epidemic and solution-focused efforts in our community.

Join us for the Al Forthan Awards Ceremony: Every spring we come to together to honor the current students who have been awarded the scholarship and to hear from past scholarship winners.

Bike and Hike Larch Mountain: It can be tough, but getting to the top is definitely worth it where we give away raffle prizes, eat a delicious lunch and celebrate the scholarship.

Sign up for the Community Rewards program: Link your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to the Al Forthan Memorial Scholarship at www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards. You can search for us by our name or by our non-profit number 84725. You still earn your Rewards Points, Fuel Points, and Rebates, just as you do today

Recycle your cans and bottles then donate them to us. If you collect and recycle your aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles, you can donate them to us. We take them all to the recycling center and all the money we collect goes directly to the scholarship. You can drop them off at 2318 NE MLK Jr. Blvd Portland, OR 97212.

Donate your Car or Boat: The Vehicle Donation Program receives donated vehicles: cars, motorcycles, trucks, boats, motor homes, travel trailers, and aircraft to sell on our virtual lot or at auction. 100% of the proceeds from the sale supports the Al Forthan Scholarship. Vehicles are picked up free of charge and inspected to determine how to maximize the value of each donation. Visit https://www.voaor.org/vehicle-donations and specify that you want the proceeds to go to the Al Forthan Scholarship.

Agency Partnership for Training's: Have your agency partner with us in co-presenting an Al Forthan training to raise funds for the Al Forthan Scholarship. What we would ask of your agency is to commit to sending several of your staff to the training and assist us in advertising the training with your partner agencies and contacts. It is a great way for your agency to learn current and useful information while also helping to raise money for the Scholarship.